Based on history, I’m going to say no. Some of the most successful athletes in the world live far outside the boundaries of Christianity. So does God play favorites?
Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is very open about his Christian beliefs. He draws attention to his faithfulness as a badge of honor. So I guess Christians should put their money on the Cardinals, right?
But in Matthew 6:5-6 God tells us that unlike hypocrites, we will be rewarded if we pray in private to not draw attention to ourselves. So should Christians be cheering for the Steelers instead?
But then in Matthew 5:14-16 God tells us to let our light shine to show our good works and glorify him.
This is confusing. How are we supposed to know which Super Bowl team to cheer for? Or just to be crazy, let’s all give credit to the athletes on the field rather than some dude in the sky.
Tags: Christianity, God, Kurt Warner, Super Bowl
February 26, 2009 at 1:07 pm |
God doesn’t really care.
Acts 10:34,”Then Peter opened [his] mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:”
December 3, 2009 at 12:36 am |
The OT god was a respecter of persons (i.e. showed favoritism). Abraham, David, Solomon. None of these guys was worth much of anything. They were respected by the OT god for their riches.
But the God and Father of Jesus Chrestos does not show favoritism.
So then, the God and Father of Jesus Chrestos does not care about sports. But the OT god, the Kosmokrator, the god of this world, perhaps does.
December 25, 2009 at 7:06 pm |
Once again, another comment to make. People don’t pray to God in order to win sports games. People realize how stupid that is, trust me. Kurt Warner doesn’t say “If I pray to God, I might win.” Yet, people do pray to God for strength, for the ability to perform outside of their abilities. It isn’t that he provides it to some, but not to others, or he says “Go Cardinals!” People do pray to God for strength, though. If Kurt Warner feels that he is given strength by praying to God, why the hell do you care? Many many people pray to God for strength in the morning, or at night, or at times in need, or to get through the day. When football players perform their jobs, why can’t they do the same? It’s a degradation to God himself to say “The Steelers won the Super Bowl because of God.” No one is saying that, you are just putting words in their mouth. They may say that God gave them strength, something crazy enough that people might actually believe, huh? And Matthew’s gospel’s meaning seems clear: don’t go out in pray just to be seen, and let your good works speak enough for you rather than seeing those prayers. I don’t think you’re asking the right questions.